Stocking-knitting machine



G. P. BOSWORTH.

STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION man AUG-27, 1914.

Patented May 10, 1921. I

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Patented May 10, 1921.

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STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-27,1914.

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G..P. BOSWORTH. STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG-27,I914.-

Patented May 10, 1921.

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Iiua Buzt Ne edZea 6 1 George ffias'korm knitting machines of thegeneral type known UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE I. IBOSWORTH, OF CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND,- ASSIGNOR, IBYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO HEMIHILL COMPANY, OF CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND,

A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

STOCKING-KNITTING MACHINE.

- V Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 10, 1921.

Application filed August 27, 1914. Serial No. 858,953.

My invention relates to circular stocking as the Banner, made underLetters Patent of the United States of Hemphill, #933,443, September 7,1909, and involves mechanism for producing various kinds of fabric onsaid machine and at various points in the fabric. 'The invention alsoinvolves mechanism whereby a welt may be made on the fabric at the topof the leg, it being understood that the Banner machine operates with asingle set or circle of latch needles.

The invention consists .in the features and I combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a view of mock rib fabric which myinvention will produce;

Fig. 2 shows tuck stitch fabric which my invention will make;

Fig. 2 is a diagram -of.a stocking indicating different forms ofknitting that may be used;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic development of the cam organization with thecams in po-' sition for making mock rib fabric; I

Fig. 3 shows the cam ring in section;

Fig. 3 shows the needles and j acks;

Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 with the cams in position for makingtuck work;

7 Fig. 5 shows the needles in position for making welt, the camorganization being the same as that shown in Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 6 is a front view of a knitting head having the cam organizationfor needles and jacks shown in, the above figures and showing some ofthe operating connections;

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view of a needle cylinder showing. the needlecam and jack cam organization of the preceding. figures l and some ofthe operating connections;

Figs. 7 7 and7 show details relating to Fig. 7;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view similar to Fig. 7 with parts omittedbut indicatand toe. 2 .is the cam rin ing four length butts of needlesand two.

length butts of jacks as employed in the machine ofthe precedingfigures;

Fig. 9 is a plan View of the cam ring of Fig. 8 with the needles andjacks omitted;

Fig. 10 is a side view of the machine looking from the left of Fig. 6;

' ig. 11 is a view of a detail;

Fig. 12 is a rear view of part of the machine to show more particularlysome of the cam operating connections;

Fig. 13 is .a detail view of a radially ad justable needle advancing camwith its operating mechanism;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing means for operating oneof the jack cams independently of the othercams sothat tuck can be madein different parts of the fabric as for instance around the leg and inthe instep withplain sole;

Fig. 15 is a view like .Fig. 3 of .a cam organization, this machinehaving needles with two lengths of butts instead of four,

and jacks with-only one length of butts instead of. two, said machinebeing adapted to make welt heel and toe, plain fabric with Fig. 16 1s aview of the machine. of

15, s aid'view being a plan like that of Fig.

7 but with the cams for making the welt omitted, and this viewillustrates the fact that the cams which are common to this form of theinvention and that -first described are operated by similar connections;

Fig. 17 is a sectional plan view of the needle cylinder, showingdiagrammatically the needles, jacks and cams of this two length needlebutt form of machine.

Fig. 18is a plan view showing the needle dividing cam of Fig. 15;

Figs. 19-21 show a .machine embodying some features above described inanother organization with two length butt needles.

In the'drawin s, 1 is the needle cylinder which is driven in theordinary or any suitable way for either round knitting or forreciprocating knitting, in making the heel mounted on a plate Hvertically adjusta le for: varying the length of the stitch. This platecarries also the narrowin pickmechanism. The

pick mechanism may be of various forms so far as my present invention isconcerned, but as illustrated it is substantially like that of theHemphill patent including a pair of narrowing picks 4 and a air ofwidening picks 5 arranged as in the emphill patent.

The machine may be organized to make the heel and toe, mock rib, tuckwork or plain fabric, with either single or double feed, or it may beorganized to make a welt, to ether with the fabrics above mentioned.

eatures of my invention may be embodied in a machine having only twolengths of needle butts and these features maybe embodied also in amachine having four lengths of needle butts. With both of these machineshaving these features in common, either of the following may be knit:mock rib fabric, tuck work, heel and toe, plain fabric with eithersingle or double feed.

With both the four butt and two butt needle modifications of myinvention, additional needle and jack cams are provided for making awelt, and by a modified arrangement of one of the jack cam operatingmechanisms tuck stitch instep with a plain sole can be knit.

I will first refer to that .form of my invention in which four lengthsof needle butts are employed and will later point out those featureswhich are common to both this four butt needle organization and. the

two butt needle organization.

For making the heel and toe, mock rib, tuck stitch, plain fabric and awelt, the machine may have the cams shown in Fig. 3, viz., the two mainstitch cams 6, 6, the guard cam 7, the-upper and lower instep cams8, 8,all usual in the-Hemphill machine, the pivoted needle retiring cam 11,

, the radially adjustable supplemental stitch cam 9, a jack switch cam10, the pivoted jack cam 17, the cam 18, the cams 15 and 16, and theneedle retiring cam 20 and the'cam 22. A set of alternating longandshort butt instep needles is employed, and a set of heel and toe needlescomposed of needles with two lengths of butts alternating with eachother, it being, understood that I am now describing a machine whichembodies my,

invention in one of several forms. A machine of this character wouldtherefore have the cam organization shown in Figs. 3, 6,

7 and 8. There would be also a jack under every other needle, as shownin Figs. 3 and 8, these jacks being in two sets, one set or half circlehaving long butts and the other set or half circle having short buttsfor a purpose hereinafter described. These two sets of jacks areindicated in Fig. 8 in dotted lines at e, f, and all of these jackswould be operated by the jack cam 10 when the same is raised to theposition 'shown in Fig.3. The four butt lengths of needles the form ofmachine now being described are shown in Figs. 3 and 3".

In ordinary heel. and toe work and plain knitting with a single feed formaking the loopers hold or the ring toe, the cams 9, 10, 11, 15, 20would be inoperative, the supplemental stitch cam 9 being adjustedradially outward away from the cylinder to avoid all the needles, asindicated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the jack cam 10 being down to avoidelevating the needle selectors or acks and the needle retiring cam 11being raised to horizontal position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3to avoid retracting any of the needles. The needle advancing cam 15'would be retracted radially outward away from the path of all theneedles. being simply a needle lowering cam, is fixed. The radiallymovable needle retiring cam 20, Figs. 1, 7 and 8, which is used fordepressing the needles so that alternate ones Cam 16 shorter butts willpass under the cam 22 for making the welt, is also inoperative, beingretracted outwardly to be out of line with all the needle butts, asshown in Figs. 7 and 8. Only the yarn feed A would be in position tosupply yarn to the needles. For heel and toe work the instep cams 8, 8and jack cam 17 would be elevated to raise the long and short buttinstep needles to inoperative position, as will be later described, andthe needle cylinder being reciprocated, narrowing and widening isperformed in the ordinary way by the narrowing picks 4 and the wideningpicks 5 operating on the heel and toe needles having the twointermediate lengths of butts.

For round and round knitting the cylinder with its needles and jacksrotate in the arrow direction, Fig. 3, and of course at this time theinstep cam 8 and the jack cam 17 would be down in inoperative position.In other Words, while making plain fabric with lengths of butts, onlythe following cams would be operative of the set shown in Figs.

3, 6, 7 and 8, namely: the ordinary cams 6, 6 and 7 of the Hemphillmachine, and for making heel and toe pocketsthese same cams 6, 6 and 7,together with the ordinary instep cam 8 for elevating the long buttneedles a of the instep series to inoperative position, and the jack cam17 for elevating by means of the long butt jack 6 the shortest buttneedles I), of this instep series to inoperative position.

The welting cams 20 and 22 will be hereinafter more fully described andneed not be particularly referred to at present.

' Mock ribtion just referred to above, the cams would needles are raisedto the normal plane 12 by- P but will not knit while knittlng continueson the alternate needles, and this knitting be adjusted as follows: Theneedle lowering cam 11 is down in operative position as shown in Fig.3,,jack cam 10 raised, supplemental stitch cam 9 adjusted radiallyinward close to the needle cylinder to retract all elevated needles,ordinary instep cam 8 and jack cam 17 are down in inoperative position,and cam 15 is retracted radially outward to inoperative position. (Jam20 is retracted away from all the needles and cam 22 being intended toallow the two shorter butt needles to pass under it when lowered by cam20 is, of course, also inoperative.

Two feeds A and B are used for making mock rib. Referring to Fi 3, allthe needles are fed at yarn feed and travel with their butts in thenormal level 12 on top of the fixed cam ring 2. All the needlesare'lowered by the cam 11 before reaching the feed B to a point belowthe position for taking thread, the cast-off line being indicated atX-X. Jack cam 10 now raises all the jacks, and as these jacks are placedunder alternate needles. throughout the entire needle circle, as shownin Figs. 3 and 8, these alternate needles will be raised to take thethread; from yarn feed finger B. The other needles,which have not beenraised, not being jack operated, pass the yarn feeder B with their hooksbelow the yarn receiving plane, and therefore do not take yarn from thefeeder B and thus the yarn is floated past these needles on the insideof the fabric, these floated or unsecured portions of the yarn beingindicated in Fig. 1.

After having received the thread at feeder B, the alternate needleswhich were raised by the jacks are lowered by the supplemental stitchcam 9 to fgrm new stitches and cast off the old loops, after which allthe the cam surface 14. They all pass the idle cam 20, above cam 22, andon arriving at the cam 6 all the needles are elevated to again take theyarn at the feeder A.

Tuck stitch fabric.

The features of my invention thus far described are also capable ofmaking the tuck stitch fabric shown in Fig. 2.

The two feeds A and B are employed, and the cams above described wouldbe adjusted as follows: needle retiring cam 11 is adjusted up into theinoperative position of Fig. 4, jack switch cam 10 israised,supplemental stitch cam-9 is adjusted inward radially to lieclose to or against the cylinder 1 to lower all elevated needles, andinstep cams 8 and 8' and jack cam 17' are down while cam -15 is adjustedoutward radially to inoperative position, and so is welt cam 20. Theyarn is fed to every needle at feeder A, stitches are formed at mainstitch cam 6, all the needles then pass along the normal plane 12 pastthe inoperative cam 15 under the elevated inoperative cam 11 withoutbeing retracted or drawn down, as shown in Fig. 4. They therefore allreceive the yarn from the feeder B. Only alternate needles, however,i.6., the jack operated needles, are elevated at feeder B to make theloops formed by the thread taken from the feeder A get below the latchesowing to said latches being raised above the cast off line. When thesealternate needles, elevated by the jacks, are retracted by thesupplemental stitch cam 9, these loops will be cast off. The loops onthe other needles, 2'. 6., those which were not elevated by the jacks,will be retained on the latches, and hence when these needles areretracted by the supplemental stitch cam 9 these loops will not be castoff. These needles, however, have received a new feed of yarn at feedfinger B. All needles now .will be returned to the normal plane 12, andupon arriving at the feeder A the yarn will be fed to all the needles,and the alternate needles will form stitches at the stitch cam 6, whilethe intermediate needles will receive a new feed of yarn and cast offtheir two stitches, and thus tuck fabricof Fig. 2 will be formed.

Welt mechanism.

For carrying out this part of my invention, 2'. 6., making a welt at thetop of the stocking leg, the needles are as above described in foursetsso far as their lengths is continued for any desired number ofcourses for forming the welt, and then by bringing into operation bothfeeds and adjusting the cams-to avoid this knitting on alternateneedles, either mock rib or tuck stitch can be made in the manner abovedescribed, or plain fabric with double feed can be knit as will bedescribed later.

For selecting the alternate needles which are to remain operative forthe formation of the welt, the four length butts of needles contribute,and with these four sets of nee dles the selecting cam 20, Figs. 3, 6,7, 8, 9 and 11, is employed which normally (6. 6., when no welt is beingformed) is retracted away from the cylinder radially out of the path ofthe buttsof all the needles.

When the welt is to" be formed, this cam 20 is moved inward radiallyclose to the needle cylinder to engage and retract all the needles. Inpassing under this earn the two throughout the entire circle will remainlongest butt needles will rise alongthe edge 'longenough to reach out tothis surface or edge,will remain lowered and pass under the switch cam22 under cam 6 and through the guideway' or groove 23, thus moving pastthe thread feed A without taking thread.

The pivoted switch cam 22 as shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, occupies arecess on the inner face of the cam ring 2, and only the two shortestbutt needles pass under it, as above described, the ring being leftintact at its outer portion so that the two longest butt needles willrise along the inclined edge 21.

As the two shortest butt needles are on opposite sides of the cylinderand alternate respectively with the two longest butt needles, it will beseen that alternate needles knitting while the other needles will notknit, but will simply hold their loops. .After passing the yarn feed Aall the needles will be raised to the normal plane by the incline 6*;they will pass the yarn feed B without receiving yarn, because this feedB has been lifted out of work and just before reaching the yarn feed Athe needles will again be divided by the cams 20, 21, 221/00 continueknitting the welt, and this will continue until the desired number ofcourses is knit, when the welting or needle dividing cam 20 is retractedaway from the needle path and the machine goes on knitting the fabricfor the leg in the stitch desired.

Referring to the action of the radially movable welting cam 20, this inperforming its inward movement bears on the ends of the needle butts,and as these are of varying lengths the cam will step inward by degreesin order to get into operative position close to the needle cylinder toact on all the needle butts. For instance, when the cam is first movedinward its inner face will strike the end faces of the intermediatelength needle butts al.v Now when the longest butt needles a come aroundthe cam will engage the upper edges of these butts and move them down,and the cam will then move inward another step until arrested by theface of the shortest butts-b. While held thus the two intermediatelength butts c and 03 will pass under the cam and the shortest butts bhaving passed the cam it will move inward to its full limit closeagainst the cylinder and in position to make the shortest butt needlesas well as all the others pass beneath-it, and the action of renderingalternate needles inactive and continuing the knittingon the others willbe performed as above described.

With the welting cam 20 retracted outward radially it will be readilyunderstood that then all the needles will pass along the normal plane12and above the cam 22, and any of the actions above described can then becarried out to form mock rib or tuck stitch following the welt, or heeland toe work, or as hereinafter described plain fabric with double feedmaybe knit following the welt.

The cam 22 is pivoted so as to allow needles to pass under it asdescribed. 7

Heel and toe work.

With needles of four butt lengths and with the longest and shortest buttneedles constituting the instep series, means additional to the ordinaryinstep cam 8 for elevating the instep needles to inoperative positionduring heel and toe work must be provided, such ordinary instep camoperating in usual practice on the long butt instep needles only, buthere where both the longest-and the shortest butt needles must be raisedother means is necessary. I therefore employ the jacks and I make thesejacks with two lengths of butts, the longest butt jacks 0, Figs. 3 and8, being under the shortest butt or instep needles 6, while the shortestbutt jacks f are under the next shortest butt or heel and toe needles 0.Under the longest butt instep needles a and the next to the longestbutt, 2'. e., the heel and toe needles d, there are no jacks so that wehave throughout the needle circle jacks under alternate needles as abovedescribed, and by having these jacks with long and short butts we areenabled to operate all of them or a part of them in order to perform thefunctions desired.

As before stated, in addition to the jack switch cam 10 which isarranged to operate on all the jacks to raise alternate needlesthroughout the entire needle circle, a second jack switch cam 17 isemployed whlch is arranged to be missed by the short butt jacks 7, butto raise the long butt jacks and thus lift the shortest shank needles,these being of the instep series and being raised for heel and toe work.The other needles a of this set, z. e., the instep needles, being thelongest butt of any, are controlled by the ordinary instep cams 8, 8,when the machine goes on heel and toe work, so that by the use of thejack switch cam 17 when raised to the position shown in dotted l1nes inFig. 3 and the instep cam 8 when raised, one half of the needles areelevated for heel and toe work, that is to say, the instep needles,longest and shortest butts, are elevated when making heel and toepockets. Coiiperating with the jack switch cam 17 wh ch raises the shortbutt needles by operating the longestbutt jacks is the shaped cam 18which is supported in fixed position n relation to all the other camsand to the needle path, being fixed to a standard 19.

The relation of the cams 10 and 17 is clear from Figs. 3, 8 and 9. Thecam 10 is located in an inner recess of the cam ring 2, and itsinnerface is substantially flush with the inner face of the cam ring sothat it will operate on all the jacks, whereas the cam 17 is located inan outer recess of the cam ring 2 so that the inner face of this cam isout beyond the inner face of the cam ring and a sufiicient distance tomiss the short butt jacks, and it will operate only the long butt jacksto raise .the shortest butt needles. The cams 17, 18 and 8' thereforecooperate to divide the needles into the two sets for making the heeland toe by elevating the longest and shortest butt needles, a, b,constituting the instep series to inoperative position while the heeland toe pockets are being formed on the other needles 0, d.

Plain fabric with double feed.

advanced by cam 6 to take yarn from the feeder A and form stitches againat cam 6 and so on for any desired number of courses. This radial cam 15is also used in making a tuck stitch instep with a plain sole, as willbe described later. I

For making plain fabric for the loopers hold following the formation ofthe toe and preceding the formation of the welt, the cams would beadjusted for making a plain fabric with a single feed A, the active camsbeing only those ordinarily employed in the Hemphill or Banner Machine,e., the cams 6,- 6' and 7, all the other cams being out of operation.

0am operating mechanism.

The various cams are operated as follows:

The supplemental advance needle cam 15.

is mounted on a slide 24, Fig. 13, guided in a fixed bracket 25supported on the cam plate H of the Hemphill patent 933,443, and thisslide is pressed by a spring 26 tending to force it radially inwardclose to the needle' cylinder. The slide with the needle cam isretracted by a bell crank lever 27 bearing on a pin 28, said bell cranklever'being operated from a cam 27 through the lever 28. pivoted to theframe and a link 29. This cam is a part of the pattern drum supported onthe shaft 8' similarly'marked in the Hemphill patent 933,443.

The operating cam 27 has a depression30 others.

deep enough to allow the needle advancing .cam 15 to move radially allthe way into the full inward movement of the needle cam to take placeand thus advance all of the needles including the shortest butt, thenplain fabric will be produced as just described with two feeds for theleg and foot when desired. If, however, the collar is adjusted so as toallow the needle advancing cam to operate all except the shortest buttneedles, the result would be tuck work in the instep or half way roundthe tube, as will be described later, and the sole or remaining portionof. .the tube would be plain stitch all as hereinafter described.

-The pivoted cam 11 which retracts all the needles when adjusted to itslow position is operated by turning the shaft 32 to which it is fixed,said shaft being mounted in a standard 33 onthe cam supporting plate H.This shaft is rocked by an arm 34 fixedv thereto connected by a link 35to a lever 36 pivoted at 37 to the yoke or bracket 38 extending from therod 9 of the Hemphill patent which raises the cam plate H, said leverbeing operated by a link 39 and lever 40 from the cam drum on the shaft8', the lever 40-being shown as being down in the depression 41 of saidcam drum, dotted lines, Fig. 10, and consequently the cam 11 is down inthe posi- If the collar is adjusted to allow tion shown in Figs. 3-10,which is the l-lSjltion formaking', for instance, mock rib.

The connections just described for operat ing the pivoted needlelowering cam 11 are under influence of spring 42 which throws the cam 11down when the recess 41 is presented to the end of the lever 40.

The jack switch cam 10 at the rear of the machine is operated asfollows:

It is mounted on a rock shaft 43 journaled u in a bracket or hearingfixed to the plate H, and is operated by a cam-shaped end 44,

.Figs. 7,7 and 7", of an arm 45 working against a stud 46 connected withthe rock shaft. The arm 45 is mounted on a slide 47 uided by blocks 48on the plate H, said slide being operated by a lever 49 connectedthroughthe fork 50 with the slide (see plan view, Fig. 7). This slide isadjacent the widening ick mechanism, and the fork 50 straddles 51c postor standard 51 to WlllCll the widening picks 5 are pivoted. The fork hasa pin 52 to which said-lever 49 is connected. v

On this sliding block 47 is mounted also the supplemental stitch cam 9',and 1t will be seen that when the slide is moved'in toward thecylinder-the two cams, i. a, rear jack cam 10 and supplemental stitchcam 9, will be set in operative position, that is, cam 10 will be tiltedup to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and the supplemental stitch 5cam will be set in'close to the cylinder to retract all needles, inmaking for instance mock rib and tuck work, as above described.

The lever 49 is pivoted at 54 and is operated through a link 53, a bellcrank lever 55 pivoted on the fixed frame at 56 and operto position toretract the needles and 'the.

jack cam 10 is tilted up to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 formaking mock rib or tuck; the supplemental yarn feed B is thrown intowork, this being done by the cam lever 58, link 57, the lever 57 pivotedto the fixed frame, as shown in Fig. 12, said lever operating verticallythe rod 57 which has an arm 57 attached thereto, a pin 57 d on whichoperates against the yarn feed B which is pivoted to' the ordinary latchrin', as shown in Fig. 6.

hen the supplemental stitch cam 9 is withdrawn from the needles, theoperating connections therefor serve also to release the supplementalyarn feed B. which is then thrown out of work by a spring 9.

The connections just described for operat- 40 ing the supplementalstitch cam 9 are operated by the cam and cam lever 58 in one direction,and in the other direction, to retract the said supplemental cam, by aspring h which presses therod 57 downwardly and through the lever 57 towhich both links 56* and 57 are connected, the lever 49 is retracted,thus moving the slide 47 outwardly and retracting the supplementalstitch cam 9.

When the slide 47 moves radially out-ward 50 for retracting thesupplemental stitch cam 9, the pivoted jack cam 10 is lowered by a s rinI .61 connected with the rock shaft 43,

The ordinary instep cam 8 is operated as in ordinary practice in theHemphill machine by a bell crank lever 62 pivoted on a bracket 63 fixedto the cam supporting plate H, and operated by a link 64 connected withthe lever b of the Hemphill patent,

which lever shifts the clutch for changing the motion from roundknitting to recipro eating knitting. I

j -The front pivoted jack cam 17 which comes into use for elevating theshortest butt instep needles for heel and toe work is mounted on a shaft65 journaled in the cam supporting plate H, and this shaft is rocked byan arm 66 fixed thereto, a link 67, lever 68, link 69 and cam lever 70.pivoted on pin 59, the link 69 being connected with the front end of 70this cam lever. Projections 71 on the pattern drum operate this camlever. As shown in Fig. 10, however, the lever is on the low part of thepattern drum, and consequently theswitch cam 17 is down out of work, asshown in Fig. 3 which, together with Fig. 10 as before stated, shows theparts in position for making mock rib.

The welting cam 20 for dividing the needles alternately into two sets,one set to knit and the other set of alternate needles to simply holdtheir loops, for the formation of the welt, is operated radially by aspring 72, Figs. 7 and 11, which presses inwardly the slide 73 carryingthe cam.

This slide is guided in a bracket 74 fixed to the cam supporting plateH. The slide is retracted to move the cam radially outward by a bellcrank lever 75,v a link 76, and a cam lever 77 pivoted at 78 to thefixed frame and pressed by a spring 79. When the lever is on the lowpart of the pattern drum, as shown in Fig. 10, the spring-79 holds thecam 20 retracted away from the cylmder, and this is the position of theparts shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 10, which is the pos1t1on for making mock.rib, but when the cam projection 80 of the pattern drum raises the 'camlever 77, the bell crank 75 releases the slide and the spring 72, thenpresses the sllde with cam 20 inwardly toward the cyllnder, and the cammoves in step by step as the different lengths of needle butts permit,as above described.

The cam is moved out step by step for which purpose the cam projection80 hasv two steps, 81, 82, down which the lever 77 moves by, successiveactions under the power of the spring 79 which is stronger than spring72, thus serving to retract the welt cam 20 by successive steps. This isto prevent any of the shortest butt or the next shortest butt needlesbeing left partly lowered, in which position they would smash agalnstthe tail or pivoted end of the cam 22 instead of being directed underthis cam, and hence a smash up would result.

The cam lever 83, Fig. 10, operates the controller of the wideningpicks5, this being indicated at 84, Fig. 6 and Figs. 7, I

connected to the block 85 guided to slide vertically in the standard 51,and connected with rod 86 which is raised and'lowered by a lever 87pivoted at 88 and connected through link 89 with said lever 87.

This mechanism is the same substantially as in the Hemphill machine.

Tuck stitch taste? and plain sole. With the needles of fiiur buttlengths and 130 the needle cam organization above described, either withor without the welt cams 20, 22, in said organization, 1t is possible toget other variations in the fabric besides those mentioned above, forinstance, a tuck stitch instep with a plain sole.

In doing this the radially adjustable supplemental stitch c'am 9 and thejack raising cam 10 instead of being operated in harmony, i. e., both inwork or both out of work at the same time, are controlled inde.pendently, as shown in Fig. 14 so that the supplemental stitch cam 9will be in work while the cam 10 will b out of work, and mechanism fordoing this will be presently described. In making this tuck stitchinstep and plain sole, both feeds A and B will be in work.

As before stated, the instep needles have long and short butts,alternately arranged, while the heel and toe needles also have twolengths of butts, the needles of one butt length alternating with theneedles of the other butt length, and the butts of the instep needlesare of different lengths from those of the heel and toe needles. Inother words, one half of the needle circle, 2'. e., the instep needles,is made up of the longest butt needles a alternating with the shortestbutt needles I), while" the other half of the needle circle, 2'. e., theheel and toe needles, is composed of needles having two lengths of buttsc, at, these lengths being intermediate the longest and shortest buttneedles of the instep series, the butts 0 being the shortest of the twointermediate lengths of the heel and toe needles. As before stated, theneedle raising cain 15 is adjustable radially to and from the path ofthe needles, while i the cam 16 being simply a lowering cam, is fixed toa suitable standard and is not adjustable. The cam 15 is adjustablradially inward for making the tuck instep and plain sole to a positionto raise all the needles excepting the shortest butt needles of theinstep series, and therefore in passing this cam all the needlesexcepting these short butt instep needles will move high enough to allowthe fabric loops to fall below the latches, and as the needles all passthe thread carrier B they all receive the yarn and make plain knittingwithout tucking, excepting the shortest butt instep needles, which arenot elevated by the supplemental cam 15, and ,as these shortest buttneedles also receive the yarn from the thread carrier B but thepreviously formed loops were not mad to fallbelow the latches by thesaid suplemental cam 15, tuck stitches will be formed on these needleswhich, together with the longest butt needles, will make the instep.

It will be understood that when all the needles excepting the shortestbutts are elevated by the supplemental cam 15, and their loops havefallen below their latches, these needles are all returned to the normalplane with their butts riding on the upper edge 12 of the cam, and they,together with the' 9, whereas they shortest butt needles which were notadvanced by the cam 15 and whose stitches still remain on their latcheswill simply take on a new feed of yarn at feeder B, and will not casttheir old loops when retracted by the stitch cam 9, and thus tuckstitches will be formed on these needles In making tuck stitch instepand plain sole, as just described, the cams of Fig. 14 will be adjustedas follows: Supplemental advancing cam 15 is adjusted radially inwardtoward the needle cylinder to raise all the needles exceptin theshortest butt needles, cam 11 is up, jack cam 10 down, stitch cam 9 isadjusted radially inward close to the cylinder to retract all theneedles from their normal plane, instep cam 8 and instep jack cam 17 aredown, and if the machine is not intended to make a welt the welt cams 20and 22 would be out of operation.

The jack switch cam' 10 is operated independently of the supplementalstitch cam 9 as follows in the form of the machine just describedorganized to make the tuck instep and plain sole, together with theother stitches mentioned: 7

It is mounted on a rock shaft 43 journaled in a bracket or bearing fixedto the plateH, and is operated by an arm 90 on the rock shaft, a link91, a lever 92 pivoted to the frame at 92*, and a cam 93 on the shaft 8of the pattern drum. This cam has a depression 94 and when this comesunder the end of the lever said lever will be operated by a spring 95 tolower the cam 10. The depression 94 extends on the cam a distance equalto the distance between the projections 71 on the pattern drum which arein effeet when the heel and toe are being formed, as will be hereinafterdescribed, or in other words' the length of this depression representsthat portion of the pattern drum at which the sole and instep areformed.

Tuck work in instep and sole or throughout the Circle of the leg.

outward so as to miss the shortest and the next shortest butt needles,the rest of the cams being left in the positlon just described latchesand for the casting off at feed B which tuck in the leg, and thereforeby the while the alternate needlesin each set, (i. e. the shortest butt,of the instep set and the longest intermediate butt of the sole set),will not be raised to such a point as to get their loops back of theirlatches, but these needles will take the yarn from feed B and havingretained their loops on their latches tuck stitches will be formed onthese alternate needles throughout the entire circle.

It may be observed that for making the tuck stitch throughout the instepand sole the cams might be adjusted to the position described above formaking the tuck stitches throughout the leg, but the advantage of makingthe tuck stitches by adjusting the supplemental cam 15 is that thetucking can be done on the alternate needles from those use of this cam15 the tucking may alternate in respect-to the wales, z. e., first on'one set of wales and then on the intermediate set of wales. This canbedone by using the cam 15 for a certain number'of courses and thenchanging the adjustment of the cams back to that above described formaking the leg tuck, knitting a number of courses with the cams adjustedin, this position, then changing to the cam 15 again if desired and soon as long as may be desired. This tucking by the cam 15 on thealternate needles fromthose which tuck in the leg is due to the factthat whentucking in the log, it is done on the two longest butt set ofneedles which are not jack controlled,

the jacks raising the twoshortest butt sets of needles to cast theirstitches. The cam '15, however, operates upon the two longest butt setof needles to cast their loops", while the two shortest butt set ofneedles, not being operated by the cam 15, will tuck. In the leg,therefore, tucking is done on the two longest butt needles while in theinstep and foot tucking is done on theshortest butt set of needles. Thisalternate tucking as to the wales can be done on the leg also. When donewith different colors, a check effect will be produced; first one colorappearing on a wale and then another.

My invention may be embodied in a machine organized to make welt, heeland toe,

'mock rib (accordion),tuck stitch, and plain fabric with either single-or double yarn feed and with only two length butt needles and-jonly onelength butt jacks. Such. a machine is illustrated in Figs. 15, 15, and18 and 19. The following cams would be 'used: 20*, 22 stitch cam 6,supplemental needle advancing cams 15*, similar in substance to the cam15 before described but differing slightly as will be described, needlelowering cam 11, jack cam 10, supplemental stitch cam 9, ordinary instepcams 8 and 8', and stitch cam 6'. The cams 17, 18, would not be used,and only one length butt jack would be used on alternate needlesthroughout the needle circle, these jacks beingindicated in dotted linesin Fig. 17. The cams retained and shown in Fig. 15, would be adjusted asabove described in making the mock rib and tuck stitch or plain fabricwith single feed or heel and toe, and the adjustments areeffectedbysimilar means to those described heretofore.

In making plain fabric with a double feed of yarn and with two lengthsof needle butts, the cams would be adjusted as follows: needle advancingcam 15 which I have shown modified in respect to the cam 15 beforedescribed, 2'. e to move vertically 'cam 11 would be up ininoperativeposition,

jack cam 10 would be either up or down, supplemental stitch cam 9 wouldbe adjusted radially inward to retract all. advanced needles. Cam 20would be retracted radially toinoperative position.

All needles would take yarnat feed A. These needles would be advanced atcam 15 to get the loops below the latches. A new feed of yarn wouldoccur at feed B on all the needles which would arrive at said feed inthe normal plane, their butts riding on the upper edge 12 of the camring 2. All the needles then would be retracted by the supplementalstitch cam 9 and stitches would be formed. All needles would next beadvanced by riding over cam 6 to take the yarn from feeder A. In

place of the vertically adjustable needle adto the leve'r28'beforeidescribed, a vertical rod 28 and apattern drum, these beingindicated diagrammatically in Fig. 15. This operation, z'. 0., makingplain fabric with double feed, can be carried out with the weltorganization and with needles having the four lengths of butts as abovedescribed in which event, for heel and toe work, the jack cam 17 and cam18 would be'used in addition to theordmary instep cams 8, 8.

For makiffg a welt on the two butt length of needles of the oranization' shown in Figs. 15, 16-and 17,

employ the needle dividing cam 20 shown in Figs. '15 and18 radiallymovable and pressedinwardlyby a spring 72*, and controlled by a lever 75similar to the lever 75 before described, and operated by connections tothe pattern drum 1n a manner similar to that before mentioned inconnection with the dividing cam 20 of Figs. 3, 11 and others. When thiscam is adjustedradially inward, it will retire all the needles both longand short butt as they are approaching the stitch cam. Alternateneedles, however, are raised by the jacks and a cam 10, while the otherneedles remain retired and pass below the stitch cams through the path23, and this will produce the welt as in the form shown in Fig. 3, butwith only two lengths of needle butts instead of four lengths, as in theform described in Fig. 3 and other figures.

In order to allow the jack operated needles to be advanced afterbeing'retired, I make the portion 22% of the cam ring movablehorizontally around a pivotal point 22", Figs. 15 and 18, being pressedby a spring 22 which holds it in normal position. This portion of thecam ring is the part which acts as a needle restoring cam for raisingthe needles to normal plane after forming its stitch in heel and toework.

This cam section stands at an angle to the path of the needle butts (seethe face 22 in Fig. 18) so that as the alternate needles are lifted bythe jacks the butts of these needles in rising will workagainst theinclined face and the cam will be swung outwardly to allow these needlesto pass. At other times this cam will be in its innermost position torestore the needles to normal plane in heel and toe work.

Referring to the form of machine shown in Figs. 1921, I employ the sameset of cams shown in Fig. 15, and two length butt needles and a set ofone length butt jacks, these being under alternate needles while theother needles areprovided with long tails, as

shown in Fig. 21. The jack operated needles are divided from the otherneedles to knit at feed B by the cams 10 and 9, while the other needlesmerely hold their loops. At the feed A the other needles, 2'. e., thelong tail needles, are divided from the jack operated needles by thecombined action of the needle retiring cam 20*, the cam 10 whichadvances the long tail needles, and the yielding restoring cam 22*. Bythis arrangement we get the same form of knitting at both the feeds Aand B, securing double production, the knitting of the stitches at feedB taking place on alternate jack operated needles, while at feed A theknitting of the stitches takes place on the other needles, i. 6., thelong tail needles.

The organization shown in Fig. 3 for knitting the welt, mock rib, tuckand heel and toe, as well as plain fabric, can knit the welt, then go onmock rib work for half hose followed by plain work, or following theformation ofthe welt the machine can go on tuck work for ladies hose orplain fabric can be made immediately following the welt.

I haveshown a needle cam organization and jacks and their cams capableof making a variety of fabrics, and I have illustrated connections to apattern drum for operating the said cam organization, jack cams and yarnfeeds, but it will be understood that these connections and the patterndrum for operating them are representative of any suitable means forgiving the cams their adjustments to carry out the various functions ofthe organization disclosed.

The machine will also make a ring toe 'by adjusting the cams to makeplain work with a single feed. In this instance all the'cams would beout of operation excepting the cams ordinarily employed in the'Hemphill-machine, the cams 6 and 6 being the ordinary stitch cams of saidmachine, and the cam 7 the ordinary guard cam operative upon all theneedles. i

For ladies stockings the machine will knit welt, thentuck stitch top anddown the leg, and then tuck stitch instep with plain sole, or tuckstitch instep and sole.

' For mens half hose the machine will knit welt, then mock rib top, thentuck stitch in leg and instep with plain sole, or plain fabric in theleg following the mock rib and plain fabric in the foot, this plainfabric being knit with two yarn feeds A and B.

The pattern drum is made with removable pieces or blocks as in ordinarypractice so that the operator, by properly disposing projections anddepressions about the drum, can

get the desired sequence of operations to produce the desired change inthe fabric, this being Well understood by those skilled in the art, andtherefore I do not go in detail into this pattern mechanism further thanas above set forth.

I claim! as my invention 1. A circular stocking machine for making awelt and fabric for the leg, comprising a main and a supplemental yarnfeed, a main stitch cam at the main feed and a supplemental stitch camat the supplemental feed, a needle retiring cam at each feed, means foradvancing alternate retired needles at each feed for taking the yarn andknitting and means for automatically throw

